Coed dorms sought at University of Missouri

(COLUMBIA TRIBUNE) — The University of Missouri’s Residential Life Department is facing growing pressure to offer coed dorm rooms, in part to make life more comfortable for students who might not identify as their biological gender.

Last year, several student groups, including the Residential Halls Association, adopted resolutions calling for gender-neutral housing. And Missouri’s flagship campus is getting left behind: Washington University in St. Louis offers gender-neutral housing, and this fall, Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville became the second campus in the state to offer coed rooms. At a recent diversity summit on campus, students questioned why MU has not addressed the need to offer gender-neutral housing.

“Gender-neutral housing is something that’s very important,” Xavier Billingsley, president of the Missouri Students Association, said yesterday. “We want students to feel comfortable at our university. Gender-neutral housing is a step we can take to really show students we do care about their well-being and want to help them as much as we can.”